Draft gear



Feb. |12, 1929. 1,702,032

H.` BARNARD ET AL.

H. BARNARD ET AL DRAFT GEAR A Filed Oct. l5, 1923 3 vSheets-Sheet 2 MMM/ Feb. 12, 1929.

H. BARNARD ET AL DRAFT GEAR Filed 001'.. l5, 1923 HARRY BARETRD ANDJAMES R. CARDW'ELL, 01T CHICAGO, iill', ASSIGDOS TO TINEON DRAFT CDMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORFORATION 0F DELA- 'WARE DRAFT GEAR.

Application led Gctober 15, 1923. Serial No. 668,532.

The invention relates to draft gears for `railway cars; its objects being to insure smoothness of action and certainty of release. f

The gear is of the friction type and includes intercalating .friction plates which are placed under compression by wedging elements. y rlwo forms of embodiment of the invention are hereinafter described, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing" in which Fig. 1 is a central plan section of the gear, parts of the car structure being shown in elevation;

F ig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section of the gear, details of the coupler element being shown in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, with the parts in different position, the friction spring and wedging elements being shown in plan;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are details of parts of the gear; l

Figs. 7 and 8 are `views corresponding with Figs. 1 and 2, showing a modified forni of construction.

At 1() tiere is shown a pair of center vor draft sills; at 11, 11, a pair of draft lugs; at 12, 12, a pair of birding lugs; at 13 the butt end of a coupler, andat lil the coupler extension or tail-strap, here shown as tal:- ing the forni of thewell known and eo1ninonly used yoke.

rlhe followers 15, 16, for engaging, respectively, the draft and bufng lugs, are of chainbered forno, each having side walls, as 17, 18, and top and bottom walls, as 19,

20. The length of these several walls is such that when the gear is brought into full compression, as shown in liig. 3, those of the two followers ineet and consequently forni limiting stops.

Two groups, 21, 2.2, of interealating friction plates are housed within the chambers of the two followers, the outer plate of each group bearing against the side walls 17, 18. Engageable with the inner plate of each group are two pairs of friction shoes 23, 2i, at one end of the gear, and 25, 26, at the other end thereof, ln the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, these shoes have a direct bearing upon the followers, and each is provided on its inner face with a wedging 27, inwardly directed, that is to say,facing toward the middle portion of the gear. Cooperating with the wedging faces of each pair of shoes is a floating `wedge-blocl 28, 29, and reacting between ful releasing spring 31, reacting betweenA spring seats 32, 33, one of which is shown in Fig. 5,-these seats being provided with rearwardly extending legs Se, 35,V which have a direct bearing upon the adjacent follower.

YVithin 'the chamber of 'each follower there is housed a pair of retracting bars 36, 37, for engaging shoulders formed on the friction plates 21, 22, to restore them to normal position upon the release of the gear after compression. These bars are engaged and urged backwardly lby lugs 38, 39, er;- tending upwardly and downwardly from each of the friction blocks 28, 29.

pon compression of the gear in buff the follower 15 moves backwardly, carrying with it positively the shoes 23, 2st, these shoes being urged outwardly by the wedging action of the block 28, the advance of which is resisted by the spring 30. Force transmit ted through this spring urges baclrw rdly the block 29, spreading the shoes 25, 26. rlhe follower Corning into engagement with one set of the friction plates in each group carries them forwardly between the niembers of the other set, the latter being moved baclrwardly into Contact with the follower 16, which arrests Atheir further movement.

rllhe spring 31 is also compressed by the advance of thefollower and the inward movement of 'the seat 32. Upon release the spring 31 returns the follower to its norinal position, relieving V'the wedging conipression upon the friction plates and perinitting the shoes to return to normal position under theinfluence of lthe spring 30.

Illhe releasing spring 31 being exterior of the wedge-resisting spring 30, the releasing action may be the Inuch more powerful, thereby insuring certainty of release. rllhe engagement of the friction shoes directly with the followers insures smoothness of action es the gear compresses, A

The action of the gear uit the iilluejoco Y* io y wardly inclined wedging. faces. A wedging element 44,; 45, cooperates with the pair lof shoesat each end of the Vgear andl is seated againsttheend wall of the follower, andV is l of opposed chambered followers, vgroups o provided with forwardly projecting fingers,

Aas 46,V 47, against the ends of which the seats, as` 48, for the releasing spring 31 bear..y vSpring seats 49, 50, for the Yinnei' spring .3.0 are provided with flanges, as 5l, which bear against Vthe shoulders of the shoes, as 40, upon which their wedging ,faces are] formed, and4 are also provided with'upwardly and downwardly projecting Angers, as 5r2, 53, for engaging the plate retractingt bars 36, 37. Y i

- The twoV forms of construction, while desirable may be deviated from as tovdetail without departing lfromv the scope of the invention. .Y Y' NVe claim fas our invention.-

1. In a `draftr gear, in combination, a pair of opposed chambered followers, a vpair of friction shoesseated against each .follower Y at each end thereof and having inclined wedging faces, 'a group ofintercalating fric-A tion `plates between the'wedging shoes ,at each side of the gear, and. the side walls of l .the followers, a pair of wedge blocks engaging the wedging faces of the shoes at each end of said gear, an inner spring for resisting the inward movement of said shoes, and an outer .spring for resisting the inward movement of said wedge blocks andl for forcing the same outwardly upon release of thegear. 'i

V21. ln a draft gear, in combination, a pair intercalating friction plates cooperating with theside walls of `the followers, wedge means for compressing the plates against such. walls, a spring on the axis of the gear cooperating with the wedge-means, and a spring inclosing the first-named spring and reacting directly upon the followers.

3. In a draft gear, in combination, a pairy `of opposed chambered followers, groups Vof intercalating friction Vplates Vcooperating with the side walls of the followers, wedge Vmeans for compressing the plates Vagainst y such walls, a spring yon theairis of the l.gear

' first-named spring.

.cooperating with vthe wedge means, a spring inclosing the first-named spring and reacting directly upon the followers, and retracting barsengageable with shoulders of each-set of-plates of'both `groups and ,by the 4. In a draft gear, of Vchainbered followers, friction and wedge elements inclo-sed within the followers, a pair* of nested expansion springs located on the axis ofithe gear, the innerV spring cooperating with the wedge elements and the .outer spring reacting directlyV upon the followers.

5. A shock absorber'vcomprising a plurality of sets of friction plates which areV slidableflengthwise relatively to each other, and the/plates of one set alternating with another, a plurality rof bufling memberseach engaging the outer ends ofthe plates ofone set and also supporting said plates on one in combination, a pair n longitudinal side thereof, 1 a plurality of wedge plates each engaging theA opposite longitudinal side of said plates, a plurality .of longitudinal-ly movable wedge blocks each having wedging engagement with one of said wedge platesand each Vprovided with inwardly extending,l fingers, spring means engaging said fingers for releasing the wedge action of said wedge Aplates and blocks, and means for causing said sets'of friction plates to4 belretracted upon releasing the wedgingV engagement between` said wedge plates andblocks.

6. A shockvabsorber comprising a'plurality1 of sets of cooperating friction plates w ich alternate with each other and are capable of sliding lengthwise relatively to' oneV anotheiga plurality of buffer members supporting said plates on one vof their longitudinal sides and also adapted to engage vthe outer endsof the same, a plurality of wedge plates each engaging with the opposite longitudinal side of said friction plates, a plurality of longitudinally movable wedge blocksV each having wedging engagement f with one ofsaid wedge plates and each provided with inwardly extending fingers, spring means engaging said fingers for moving said blocks ,in the direction for retracting the same from said wedge plates,

means for resisting the inward movement of said wedge plates., 'said means comprising a spring seat forengaging said plates, spring means vfor engaging said seats, and means j, p

operated by said spring seats for retracting said plates after compression.:

Y HARRY' BARNARD.

V4 JAMES a.. cannwniit. 

